Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his face-to-face meeting with President Obama, scheduled for Tuesday, following a deadly raid on a flotilla of aid ships bound for Gaza that left up to 19 people dead, the Fox News Channel confirmed Monday.

A senior Israeli official previously said the prime minister would continue his visit to the U.S. despite the diplomatic fallout from Monday’s early morning raid, which sparked international outrage.

Netanyahu, currently in talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa, gave his “full backing” to the Israeli military after the bloody confrontation, which saw commandos storm the vessels in international waters.

The government blamed activists for initiating the violence, claiming its troops opened fire only after they were attacked with knives, clubs and live fire, AFP reported.

But countries around the world condemned the assault, as the U.N. Security Council prepared to hold emergency talks on the crisis in New York at 1pm local time.

Tuesday’s meeting was to be the first direct encounter between Netanyahu and Obama since a frosty summit at the White House in March, viewed by many as an attempt to humiliate the Israeli prime minister in the wake of a spat over settlement building.